Field of the Invention
The indention relates, in some aspects, to systems and methods for treating a pelvic condition, including but not limited to female urinary incontinence.
Description of the Related Art
“Overactive bladder” is defined by the International Incontinence Society as a “symptom syndrome suggestive of lower urinary tract dysfunction.” It is specifically defined as “urgency, with or without urge incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia.” Female overactive bladder is a troublesome problem for many individuals. The condition may result from involuntary contraction of the bladder muscle. A number of prescription drugs are used with limited success in treating an overactive bladder and have significant side effects. Other treatments include dietary modification, Kegel instructions and formal physical therapy and different forms of electrical neuromodulation to affect the bladder reflux arc. For those whom these therapies cannot help, there are management modalities of absorbent pads that are used to collect leakage.
A number of devices have been proposed to address female urinary incontinence, represented by, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,855 to Rosenbluth et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,575 to Lenker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,340, to Lenker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,828 to Schulte, U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,427 to Simon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,535 to Björnberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,775 to Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,684 to Rijkhoff, and Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) No. H1602 to Brock, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Improved systems and methods for the treatment and prevention of pelvic conditions including but not limited to urinary incontinence are desirable.